The Performing And Visual arts in Emerald (PAVE) Festival is a calendar event not to be missed in the Dandenong Ranges. This is Emerald’s biggest event for the year and always offers activities for every age, taste and interest.

The PAVE festival is a week long celebration organised entirely by volunteers and involves numerous Community Groups, working together with one purpose - to bring the streets of Emerald alive and build community strength through the arts.

The 2010 Festival will open with a multi-cultural theme at the Emerald Lake Park on Monday 5 April featuring a market and dance performances.


Music is a big part of the festival and many local artists will be performing in the town’s various cafes. A feature event will be local radio station 3MDR’s Women and Song night at the new performing arts complex ‘The GEM’ on Wednesday 7 April.

On Saturday 10 April the local theatre group GEMCO will be running a number of performance workshops throughout the day culminating in a gala performance in the evening. The workshops include Vocal and Instrumental, Acrobalance, Masks in Drama, Stage Make-up and Clowning. The different workshops cater for people of all ages and differing interests.

The Art Society exhibition will hang all week at the Emerald Lake Environment Centre and the popular photographic exhibition returns with a theme of the Human Spirit.



Readers and Writers will be drawn to the Poet’s breakfast, a yarn event, writers’ workshop and the Golden Cow Poetry event the on Sunday 11 April. The ever popular historic bus tour of Emerald will be hosted by Cardinia’s Mayor Graeme Legge on the Saturday and this year’s theme will feature Carl Axel Nobelius.

Youth are a vital ingredient of any vibrant community and PAVE has organised a special Youth Event ‘Get PAVED’ on Saturday 10 April. Local bands will perform and a number of other activities such as laser tag, a football clinic, bungee tramp, climbing wall, fun tattoo and jewellery stalls will provide great entertainment.



An exciting aspect of this day is the use of the ‘Future Sparks’ pedal power trailer which consist of twelve push bikes connected to a generator to provide an alternative power source for the bands. The environment and sustainability theme will also feature with the screening of the much acclaimed film The Age of Stupid at the local library on Tuesday 6 April. A discussion and supper will follow.

This year the much loved Emerald Winterfest will return in a new guise – as the Emerald Funfest. It will be held on Sunday 11 April and will bring the PAVE festival to a close with a bang.

There will be rides and activities focused at preschoolers through to Grade Six children and families. A jazz tent will provide more refined entertainment with wine and cheese tastings.

There will be stalls which will focus on local handmade/homegrown items as well as community stalls promoting all the services we can access when we need them. The shops of Emerald will come out onto the streets with fun activities and specials and there will be lots of yummy food stalls with a multicultural feel.

PAVE and the Funfest is a great way to end the school holidays for all the family.

For more information on PAVE and the Emerald Funfest please contact Non Blair on 0419 345 750, or email info@pave.org.au